Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R :
Assertion A: The binding energy of metallic lithium exceeds that of the Li2 molecule though the Li - Li distance in the metal (3.03Å) is significantly larger than in the diatomic Li2 molecule (2.67Å).
Reason R : The bonds in the metal are weaker, but there are more Li-Li bonds in the metal.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below :
1
Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
2
Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
3
A is true but R is false
4
A is false but R is true